Democrats are gathering in Denver this weekend in preparation for their convention, which also tends to be a great big party …

On the homefront, Morris County Democrats plan to meet at a private home in Parsippany next Thursday night to cheer on Barack Obama’s acceptance speech.

Republicans don’t convene until the following week, but that’s not going to stop them from partying. Chairman John Sette says the county GOP plans a send-off for those attending the party convention this Monday evening at the Famished Frog in Morristown.

Republican prospects in U.S. Senate races this November grew grimmer Friday, as the head of the party’s campaign arm announced he must reduce its budget because GOP senators are raising too little money. “I recently challenged my colleagues to step up to the plate and help me provide the resources our candidates need to compete in races across the country,” Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said in a statement. “It has become clear that my call has gone largely unanswered…. “I have had no choice but to decrease the total budget” for running ad campaigns on behalf of GOP Senate candidates, Ensign said. The announcement highlights the chances that better-financed Democrats will expand their 51-seat majority in the Senate. It would take nine victories for Democrats to reach a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority, a goal their campaign team is calling very difficult, but not impossible. Ensign had conceded earlier that the GOP will lose two to four seats. The National Republican Senatorial Committee that he chairs has about $25 million cash on-hand, compared with nearly $43 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.